Drying apparatus or dehydrating plant for the treatment of grass, peat, and other moist substances



PEAT AND OTHER MOIST SUBSTANCES March 26, 1946. MCLEOD DRYING APPARATUS 0E DEHYDRATING PLANT FOR THE TREATMENT OF GRASS, 7

Filed Oct. 11, 1944 Sheets-Sheet l March 26, 1946. H. N. McLEOD 2,397,363

' DRYING APPARATUS OR DEHYDRATING PLANT FOR THE k I A TREATMENT OF GRASS, PEAT, AND OTHER MOIST SUBSTANCES Filed 001;. 11, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 b no j I '5 M Patented Mar. 26, 1946 DRYING APPARATUS B DEHYDBA'HNG PLANT FOR THE TREATMENT OF GRASS, PEA'I', AND OTHER MOIST SUBSTANCES Hector Norman McLeod. London, England Application 13 Claims.

This invention of improvements in drying apparatus or dehydrating plant for the treatment of grass, peat and other moist substances has for its object to provide a compact and highly efficient apparatus adapted for dealing with crops such as grass, clover and lupin, or materials such as peat, and seaweed and other moist substances such as vegetables, fruits, and edibles and wastes and by-products which require to be treated in bulk for the prompt removal of the moisture content. A further object of the invention is to adapt the plant for haulage over a harvesting field, or over a bog or peat deposit and for picking up the crop or ground material and passing it through the drying apparatus.

According to this invention, there is provided in combination means for comminuting or dividing up the material collected by or fed into the apparatus, endless conveyor means adapted for taking a grip on material received from the comminutor, pressing means active upon the conveyor means at one point in its travel to compress the material and remove portion of the moisture, heated drums supporting the conveyor means over a portion of its further travel, a heating and drying chamber receiving delivery from the conveyor means, and a source of heat or heat economiser means adapted for supplying heated air or hot gases and vapours to the units requiring heat supply.

According to a further feature of theinvention, a plant comprising the combination aforesaid is mounted on a support, such as a sled device, adapted for being hauled over the ground, the comminuting means on the said support being adapted for collecting a crop from the ground and passing it into the grip of the endless conveyor means, or even for mowing the crop and collecting it and passing it on for treatment. when peat is to be collected and treated, a scariiler device may be affixed to the under part of the support; this device being adapted for scarifying the peat layer and enabling it to be picked up by the collector of the comminuting means. When roots such as are met with in peat working are to be collected and treated, a slicing or mincin device may be afllxed underv the support and adapted for slicing -or mincing the roots ready for being picked up by the said collector.

In order to enable the invention to be readily understood, reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a more or less diagrammatic side October 11, 1944, Serial No. Great Britain September 3. 1

elevation of a mobile dehydrating plant embodying the present improvements, and

rigure2isaplanofrigurel.

Referring to the drawings, a is a frame sup ported at the front by a pair of wheels b and at therear by a castor wheel These wheels are detachably mounted for a reason to be hereinafter explained. A draw bar arrangement d is fixed to the front end of the frame a for enabling the latter and the plant thereon to be hauled over the ground, as by a motor tractor. It is to be understood that the frame a may be fixedly installed on a given site when so desired.

At the rear end of the frame a there is a feed hopper provided in its bottom part with a revoluble drum e carrying flexible heaters 6 Material to be treated may be introduced into the hopper f in a suitably divided condition, where upon it comes under the influence of the beaters e which compress and feed it on to a revolving drum 9 provided on its exterior with blades, teeth, brush wires or the like. The drum 0 then feeds the material in a further disintegrated or divided condition to aninlet bight between two endless travelling conveyor bands 7;, h hereinafter described.

If the apparatus is to be used as a mobile plant for treating grass or'peat, the wheels 17 and c are removed and the frame a is mounted on suitable sled runners a so that the lower part of the drum 9 comes near the ground and a roller i in advance of the drum y comes on, or sufficiently close, to the groundfor rolling the crop and facilitating the picking up of such crop by the drum 9 and its associate part now to be described.

The associate part referred to plate is extending partly around thedrumg rearwardly thereof and so as to leave a space between it and the drum. The bottom edge of the plate I k may be fitted with curved teeth or tines for tween the bladeson the drum. The cutting edges of the blades may have incisions made inthem at an angle so as to impart a rolling or traversing motion to the particles of the materialunder treatment. Or, the drum may be constructed as a rotary brush'and may have shallow channels cut or pressed in'its surface ,todisintegra-; tion of the material treated. The segment plate k on its inner furnishedawith almultie' piicity of sharppoints k extending into the space is a segment then fed by the drum 9 to the entry bight between the two conveyor bands h, h

The drum g and plate It constitute what has been referred to as a comminutor, but other forms of comminutor'may be employed. For example,

a comminutor may consist of two travelling webs or wire mats having a multiplicity of opp sed-iv hard points and moving at different speeds. The webs may be endless and unidirectional in their travel but they may be of an oscillatory or reciprocatory nature. -Alternatively, two oscillatory or reciprocatory plates presenting 0pposed blades or points may beused, or a plate provided with blades or points may operate in conjunction with a many pointed wire mat.

The'comminuted material fed by the drum g into the entry bight between the conveyor bands h, k ,is gripp d between the latter as the bight closes (as will be apparent from Figure l) and is then carried by the bands between pressure roller pairs 1, i for a preliminary pressing out of the liquid content of,'or moisture held by, the material under treatment. The bandsh, h are of canvas, or of finely woven wire, or other fabric,

so that the expressed moisture can readily escape and fall into a collectingtrough m from which1 v it may be run off into a suitable container such. as that marked it at the side of the frame. If

the material treated is of such a nature that a valuable constituent is expressed from the material and carried away by the liquid a pump e operating in conjunction with a filter device may 1; be employed for drawing on the liquor and forc- 1 ing it through the filter which retains the said" constituent. Where sludges and substances suspended in liquids are dealt with, the bight be- .45

tween the travelling bands may be placed in direct contact with such sludges and liquids.

The partly dehydrated material, still' gripped between the bands h, 12 next passes over, heated drums p, P, idler guide rolls q, q beneath which the bands are passed, being disposed low down in relation to these drums in order to giveas much lap as possible of the bands h, n upon the drums. When the bands h, it have passed over the top of the drum p theyare separated, the

bandh being passed around an idler roll r to make its return flight over the drums p, p as indicated by the upper straight arrow in Figure 1. The band h continues around thedrum p and then makes its return flight as indicatedby the" lower straight arrow'in Figure 1. Scraper devices s, s or brushes are provided forremovin'g material adhering to the bands Just beyond the point of separation, and such scraper devices may be fashioned to control the form in which it is desired to have the material delivered. for example, in sheet, shred, granular or dust form.

The material falling from the bands and removed by the scrapers 3, s1 is received in a trough t extending across .the frame a and in this trough 7 there is a worm conveyor t for' moving the ma-, terial along the trough to the discharge point. The material may be subjected; to a further fashioning treatment whilst in the trough ,t, as by 5 edges to the said worm. In some cases a spiral brush may be used as the worm conveyor. At the delivery of the trough t there may be a conveyor or elevator 10 or any other suitable means for transferring material from the trough t into a drying cylinder u. Thus, instead of the conveyor w, the shaft of the worm conveyor t -may be fitted with flexible paddles adapted for beating mate'- rial from the trough t into the cylinder a. A

shaft 2; revolubly mounted so as to extend alon the longitudinal axis of the cylinder, is provided with a propelling spiral v carrying on its periphcry a number of small troughs v the function of the latterbeing to lift the material to the top of the interior of the cylinder and then drop it, the object being to subject the material to intimate contact with hot gases or heated air passed through the cylinder, as hereinafter described. Alternatively, hot air or gases may be passed through a jacket u on the cylinder u and also through the shaft 1: which may be-made hol low for the purpose. A duct u may be provided along the top of the cylinder for the collection of vapours given off from the material and such vapours may be led away from the duct u to a condenser The shaft 0 may be of relatively large diameter when hollow and may contain a worm blade for forcing the heated gases against the inner surface of the shaft.

At the entry of the material into the cylinder u or at a point between the hands after theypass the pressure rollsi, i other substances may be added to the material for the productionof combined products, and such substances maybe introduced in either solid or liquid form.

Discharge of material propelled along the cylinder u by the spiral p is received by a worm or other conveyor a: which delivers the material into a receiver 3! 'wherein it may be briquetted or from which it may be removed and stored or further treated as desired. 7 v

" When roots are to be dealt with, a so-called hogger comprising bladed, spiked or other rollers l and tines 2 for picking up the roots and guiding them to the rollers, is attached to the underside of the frame a. .The roots emerging in a divided condition from the rollers I are deposited I on the ground to'be" picked up by the tines on the plate Jc, the material then-undergoing the same treatment as hereinbefore described.

For the treatment of peat, the sled'z, beneath the fore part of the frame, may support a harrow orj scarifler 2' adapted in known manner for breaking up the peat layer, the broken peat then coming under the influence of the rollerj; tines on the plate'lc and drum 9 and following the course of treatment hereinbefore' described.

For any of the'cperations above described, the rear part of the frame may besupported on a sled, so that the roller 1', tines on the plate It and other underframe parts will be supported in suite able proximity to the ground. 1 a

' The machine elements hereinbefore described can be driven by any suitable power sourceand trion, and the drawings illustrate one example. In this example-an internal combustion engine tisinstalled on the frame and drives, by means of worm gear 4, a main shaft 5. Worm gearing! gears the main shaft 5' with a cross shaft I which drives the conveyor or elevator 10 by chain gearing indicated in Figure l. -Worm providing the worm t with serrated. or sh ped "9 and In. the drums n, n being en'ectivev of enemas course, for driving the endless bands n. M. when The pump 0, when used, may be ing H from the shaft of the drum :1 and the beater e is driven by chain gearing l5 from the shaft of the drum 9. At the forward end of the main shaft 5, there is a worm gearing l6 for driving a cross shaft I1 carrying a worm in mesh with a worm wheel I 8 on the shaft of the propelling spiral 0 within the cylinder u. The drive for the conveyor w is not shown but it is apparent that it could appropriately be geared with the shaft H. The drive for the presser rollers i, i i not shown but they maybe driven by worm gearing from the shaft 5.

The exhaust pipe I! of the engine 3 under hood 3' is seen in Figure 2 to be connected with a Jacket on the cylinder u for the heating of the latter. Waste heat from the engine cooling system may also be utilised for this purpose. The heat from the engine exhaust may be augmented, if desired, by heat obtained from a burner 20' in furnace 20 in which peat or waste matter may be consumed, the flue H from this furnace being hown joined up with-the exhaust pipe is. A fan, ejector or other draught inducer may be provided for promoting movement of combustion gases from the furnace 20 into the exhaust pipe IS. The heat may be'further augmented by vice as a source of heat for the: unitsnrequiring heat supply. ,4. Dehydrator plant comprising in combination, a comminutor atthe receiving end ofsaid plant, companion endless conveyors comprising flight lengths running, together and presenting an entry bight to the delivery from said com-. minutor, pressing means active ,upon a portion of said flight lengths, heated drums supportinganother portion of said flight lengths, a heating and drying chamber at the delivery end of said endless conveyor where said flight lengths separate, and transferring means disposed between utilising the exhaust gases from the engine of a tractor employed for haulingthe frame a, and for this purpose the exhaust outlet of the traptor engine may be coupled up with the exhaust pipe If! by means of a flexible pipe 22.- From the said jacket, the hot gases are passed on by a pipe connection 23 to the hollow shaft of the drum p and from that shaft to the hollow shaft of the drum p by a pi connection 24. If desired, the said gases may be finally passed on to the rollers i, i by a pipe connection 25. By any suitable connection, the hot gases from the pipe l9 may be passed through the shaft 12 of the propelling spiral v and,'if desired, a, proportion of the said gases may be admitted to the interior of the cylinder u for making direct contact with the material under treatment therein.

I claim:

1. Dehydrator plant comprising in combination, a comminutor at the receiving end of said plant, endless conveyor means disposed at the delivery of said comminutor and adapted for taking a grip on material received from said said delivery end and said chamber and operative for transferring material from said conveyors into said chamber.

5. Dehydrator plant as claimed in claim 4 and further comprising a mobile frame supporting said plant, and collector means afllxed on the 20v said plant, a scarlfler detachably afllxed beneath the forward portion of said mobile frame, and collector means affixed beneath the rearward portion of said frame and operative forlifting maoperative for lifting and cutting up material and comminutor, pressing means active upon said.

endless conveyor means at one pointin its travel. heated drums supporting said endless conveyor means over a part of its further travel, a heating and drying chamber at the delivery end of said plant transferring means disposed between the delivery of said endless conveyor means and said chamber and operative for transferring material from said conveyor means into said 'cham heat, and means for conveying waste heat from re-depositing the cut-up material for collection by the collector means.

8. Dehydrator plant as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising a liquid collector disposed beneath that portion of the endless conveyor which is acted upon by the pressing means, a pump operative for drawing ofl liquid matter from said collector, and filter means in connection with the delivery of said pump.

9. Dehydrator plant comprising in combination a comminutor at the receiving end of said plant, endless conveyor means disposed at the delivery of said comminutor and adapted for taking a grip on material received from said comminutor, pressing means active upon said endless conveyor means at one point in its travel,

heated drums supporting said endlessconveyor means over a part of its further travel, a cylinder enclosing a screw feed conveyor adapted for alternately lifting and dropping material fedinto said cylinder, transferring means disposed between the delivery of said endless conveyor the said engine to the units requiring heat sup- 3. Dehydrator plant as claimed in claim 1, and further comprising in combination a furnace demeans and said cylinder and operative for feeding material from said conveyor means into said cylinder, and heating means in connection with said cylinder.

10. Dehydrator plant as claimed in claim 9, and I -wherein, the comminutor comprises a revolubleT drum armed externally with comminuting devices and a concave plate spaced from said drum "and armedon its concave surface with com- 13. Dehydrator plant as claimed in claim 9 and wherein the screw feed conveyor within the cylinder comprises a worm fitted along its peripheral edge with a number of scoop devices adapted for 5 alternately lifting and dropping material within the cylinder. HECTOR NORMAN McLEOD. 

